Denmark at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Denmark sent a delegation to compete at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria from 29 January to 9 February 1964. This was Denmark's fourth time participating in a Winter Olympic Games. The Danish delegation consisted of two athletes, cross-country skier Svend Carlsen and speed skater Kurt Stille. Carlsen placed outside the top 50 in both his events. Stille finished 9th in the men's 10,000 meters, the best performance by a Danish athlete at these Games.

Denmark at the 1964 Winter Olympics
IOC code	DEN
NOC	National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark
Website	www.dif.dk (in Danish and English)
in Innsbruck
Competitors	2 in 2 sports
Flag bearer	Svend Carlsen
Medals	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Total 0
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)
1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972–1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022

Background

Denmark has been part of the Olympic movement since the beginning, having sent three athletes to the first modern Olympics in 1896.^[1] Since then, the only Summer Olympic Games they have missed is the 1904 Summer Olympics.^[2] Denmark then first competed at the Winter Olympics at the 1948 Winter Olympics. Innsbruck was accordingly their fourth time participating in the Winter Olympics.^[2] The 1964 Winter Olympics were held from 29 January to 9 February 1964.^[3] The Danish delegation consisted of two athletes, cross-country skier Svend Carlsen and speed skater Kurt Stille.^[4] Carlsen was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony.^[2]

Cross-country skiing

Main article: Cross-country skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Svend Carlsen was 25 years old at the time of the Innsbruck Olympics, and was making his Olympic debut.^[5][6] Carlsen competed in two races, the 15 kilometer and the 30 kilometer, both of which were won by Eero Mäntyranta of Finland.^[7] On 30 January, he took part in the 30 kilometers race, finishing in 1 hour, 46 minutes and 35.9 seconds, which put him 53rd out of 66 who finished the race; the gold medal was won in 1 hour, 30 minutes and 50.7 seconds by Mäntyranta.^[8] The 15 kilometers race was held on 2 February. Carlsen completed the race in 1 hour and 20.7 seconds, which put him in 57th place out of 69 classified finishers. The gold medal was again won by Mäntyranta, this time in a time of 50 minutes and 54.1 seconds.^[9] Carlsen would return to compete in the same two races four years later, representing Denmark at the 1968 Winter Olympics.^[5]

Event	Athlete	Race
		Time	Rank
Men's 15 km	Svend Carlsen	1:00:20.7	57
Men's 30 km		1:46:35.9	53

Speed skating

Main article: Speed skating at the 1964 Winter Olympics

Kurt Stille was 29 years old at the time of the Innsbruck Olympics, and was making his second Olympic appearance.^[10][11] He had previously represented Denmark at the 1960 Winter Olympics, skating the same three races in Squaw Valley he would skate here in Innsbruck.^[10] First for Stille was the men's 5000 meters, held on 5 February. He finished the race in a time of 7 minutes and 56.1 seconds, which put him 12th out of 42 competitors. Knut Johannesen of Norway won the gold medal in a time of 7 minutes and 38.4 seconds.^[12] The next day the men's 1500 meters was held, Stille finished in a time of 2 minutes and 17.4 seconds, which put him in 30th place; the gold medal was taken by Ants Antson of the Soviet Union in 2 minutes and 10.3 seconds.^[13] On 7 February, the men's 10,000 meters was held, and Stille had his best performance of the Games. He completed the race in 16 minutes and 38.3 seconds, which was sufficient for him to rank 9th out of 33 classified finishers. The gold medal was won in 15 minutes and 50.1 seconds by Jonny Nilsson of Sweden.^[14] Nonetheless, Stille's finish was Denmark's best at the Winter Olympics until their silver medal in women's curling at the 1998 Games.^[15]

Event	Athlete	Race
		Time	Rank
Men's 1500 m	Kurt Stille	2:17.4	30
Men's 5000 m		7:56.1	12
Men's 10,000 m		16:38.3	9

References

1. "Denmark at the 1896 Athina Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
2. "Denmark". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
3. "Innsbruck 1964 Winter Olympics – results & video highlights". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
4. "Denmark at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
5. "Svend Carlsen Bio, Stats, and Results". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
6. "Svend CARLSEN – Olympic Cross Country Skiing – Denmark". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
7. "Eero Mantyranta Bio, Stats, and Results". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
8. "Cross Country Skiing at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games: Men's 30 kilometres". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
9. "Cross Country Skiing at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games: Men's 15 kilometres". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
10. "Kurt Stille Bio, Stats, and Results". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
11. "Kurt STILLE – Olympic Speed skating – Denmark". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
12. "Speed Skating at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games: Men's 5,000 metres". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
13. "Speed Skating at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games: Men's 1,500 metres". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
14. "Speed Skating at the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Games: Men's 10,000 metres". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
15. Grasso, John; Mallon, Bill; Heijmans, Jeroen (14 May 2015). Historical Dictionary of the Olympic Movement (5th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 149–150. ISBN 978-1442248595. Retrieved 6 August 2018.